Abdi Faatax (Image: South Wales Police)
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A shoplifter who fled from two police community support officers was tracked down hiding among trees and shrubbery – and has now been jailed.
PCSOs Grace Looker and Grace Hayman were carrying out a foot patrol near Tesco in St Mellons, Cardiff, when they spotted a suspected shoplifter in the supermarket car park on January 23.
After running checks with the control room, the pair confirmed the man was wanted in connection with six shoplifting offences. He attempted to run from the officers, but both PCSOs gave chase and eventually found him concealed in trees and shrubbery opposite Oakfield Primary School.
Sentenced
Abdi Faatax, 41, from St Mellons, appeared at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on Monday, March 23, where he was convicted of six thefts from Boots on Countisbury Avenue.
He was sentenced to 24 weeks in prison and handed a two-year Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO), which bans him from entering the Boots store on Countisbury Avenue. Breaching the order is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both.
South Wales Police said the case was the latest success following a new wider approach to tackling shoplifting and anti-social behaviour across Cardiff and the Vale.
